Excerpt from "Go Down, Death" While we were watching round her bed, She turned her eyes and looked away,
She saw what we couldn't see;
She saw Old Death.She saw Old Death
Coming like a falling star.
But Death didn't frighten Sister Caroline;
He looked to her like a welcome friend.
And she whispered to us: I'm going home,
And she smiled and closed her eyes.
AnalysisThis poem shows me that Death isn't something to fear. It shows me that Death is something people get when tiredness arrives and God sees the weariness and calls Death to put them to rest. God is perfect and knows when the time for people has come. God knows when to call Death to come down to earth and take us to his home to rest. It satisfies me to know that when Death is called upon me, I will be resting in the bosom of Jesus. It makes me feel secure.
Cesar
Introduction James Weldon Johnson was born on June 17, 1871 in Jacksonville, Florida. James Weldon Johnson was a poet during the Harlem Renaissance Time, Johnson wrote great poems such as The Color Sergeant, The Creation, The Temptress and Go Down, Death (the verses above are from the Go Down,Death). James Weldon Johnson wrote Go Down, Death in 1926. The poem was included in a book that was published in 1930 it is called God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (James Weldon Johnson Wikipedia). Johnson mainly wrote about slavery and God.
While we were watching round her bed, She turned her eyes and looked away,
She saw what we couldn't see;
She saw Old Death.She saw Old Death
Coming like a falling star.
But Death didn't frighten Sister Caroline;
He looked to her like a welcome friend.
And she whispered to us: I'm going home,
And she smiled and closed her eyes.
Analysis This poem shows me that Death isn't something to fear. It shows me that Death is something people get when tiredness arrives and God sees the weariness and calls Death to put them to rest. God is perfect and knows when the time for people has come. God knows when to call Death to come down to earth and take us to his home to rest. It satisfies me to know that when Death is called upon me, I will be resting in the bosom of Jesus. It makes me feel secure.
Bibliography "James Weldon Johnson." Wikipedia.12 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Weldon_Johnson>.
Johnson, James W. "Go Down, Death." Old Poetry. Social Design, Inc. 9 May 2009 <http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/57133-James-Weldon-Johnson-Go-Down-Death>.